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Disdainful-Soul.net has 6 Reviews

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1. 

   Clem gave it on 19th Nov 2008 and said:

   This design makes me kind of sad. I've seen what you're capable of (mostly over at Working Title), and it seems like you've pretty much ignored Disdainful Soul, at least in the design department.

   I think it's the colour scheme that's doing it for me. It's so... bleak. Dark blue and depressing greeny-bluey-grey (not sure what colour it is, even). I like bright colours. Or, at least, colours that are colours. (Just pretend that made sense for the sake of everyone.)

   Your header is pretty basic. I'd like to see some kind of logo on it - just something to make it a bit more interesting. Or, you know, maybe with a change of colours it would be fine.

   I'm not a huge fan of your navigation. I like the set-up, because it's not too common, but it's just... kind of plain. I want a more interesting font for the navigation. A bigger font. A bolder font! I want more padding on the bottom of each link. I want the text to NOT move to the right. That reminds me too much of crappy teenybopper websites, and that makes me sad.

   You're not using white for the background of your content, which adds to the dismal feeling I'm getting. It's... grey. I don't like light grey, and I don't like how you're using it in this instance.

   Everything else seems to be in good working order; your sidebar is organised; your entries are well laid out; and I like your footer, with the random fanlistings links. (Although the links on your footer need to change on hover. Yes, I will seriously point out the need for hover in every review I write.)

   ABOUT
   Pretty basic info here. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've provided more info over at Working Title (your writing blog) than here (your personal blog). Something seems a little wrong with that picture!

   -DVD Collection
   Maybe I'm wrong, since people still put this stuff up, but I don't really care about this page and I don't think your average visitor will. Who knows.

   -My Web Profiles
   Okay, a page of links.

   VISITOR
   This is a good section - articles, templates/themes, activities/games, even a mini tutorial. I thought that "Links and Styles" was a very good article, and I'll probably end up linking to it in future reviews. I'd like the second part to "Handy Tools for Making a Website", please. ;) I'd also love it if you added more templates and SMF themes.

   DOMAIN
   I feel like I say this every review, but... it's a domain page! Fine. Nothing to comment on, except... it's a domain page.

   -Archives
   Nicely organised. I have a secret love for archive pages. (Your sidebar seems to have disappeared, however!)

   -Collective
   The text from Disdainful Soul kind of runs into Working Title's description, but other than that, this page is fine.

   -Plugins Used
   Automatically generated list.

   -Links
   Nicely organised.

   Catherine, you know I really enjoy your writing blog and I think you're a funny, smart person. I do think that your personal site could use a bit of attention. It's definitely above average, but your current design makes me sad and I think you could add more to your About section. I'd also love to see more in your Visitor section, but that isn't a big issue. If half stars were available, I'd give you 3.5, but it's my policy to always round UP.

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2. 

   Lene gave it on 11th Nov 2008 and said:

   First Impression

   I've been to your site before and every time I see it gives me the same impression "Whoa! Where should I look first?". Your site's design is in desperate need of some padding.

   Design

   I'm still having trouble deciding where to start looking, so I'll just start from the top. Hmm... I like your favicon. I'm the #1 fan of simplicity, but there's something about your header that makes it too simple. It doesn't say anything to me (except your site's name, duh). It doesn't remind me of anything. It seems cold and sad. It might be because everything else in your site is similarly colored and doesn't help it stand out. The font used for the title is pretty, though.

   The navigation is accessible, clear and organized. I don't like how the navigation link suddenly aligns to the right when you hover the box. There are other effects you can use to make your navigation more interesting when hovered, like having a tiny image/bullet appear when the mouse moves over it.

   You see how much blank space you left between the left margin of your header and the word "Disdainful"? That's about how much space you should have left to the right-hand side of the header too, between the margin and the navigation. A smaller font for the title would make the navigation box fit more comfortably if moved to the left. Or you could use your website name "Disdainful Soul" without the hyphen and the ".net".

   I'm not a fan of the background. I think it's the saturated blue / desaturated blue combination. Now on with your content area and sidebar. Like I said earlier, padding emergency! You need to leave more space:
   - Between the header and the entry title,
   - Between an entry and the title of the next one
   - To the left and right sides of the entry
   - Above and below the entry date / category lines
   - Between paragraph lines! ( p { line-height: anything greater than 130%;} )
   - Between your sidebar margins and the sidebar content

   Not leaving enough space between visual elements makes is look awfully cluttered. So you can fit a lot of text in one tiny box if you want, but leave space for it to be readable. By the way, I'm not saying your content area is small; it's perfect the size it is, BUT it does look smaller with everything cramped together there. I'm not a fan of your footer or as I call it "bottom-bar". My problem with it is that it sticks around every page, when it's not really necessary to link all your sites, social networking pages and a bunch of fanlistings you've joined from every page of your site. When you use a bottom-bar to display information that five years ago was put in a sidebar, I like to see some visible distinction between that section and the footer-footer (actual copyright yada yada footer). That way (visually separated), it looks like you've organized information at the bottom of your page, not like you actually raped your footer with loads extra information.

   Content

   I think your About page is basically perfect. I love that you say everything that needs to be said in a short and concise page, without any shitty preludes. Ok, just LOL at the sorting bird and rat bones *feels identified*. The visitors content section has some nice stuff, the articles seem a little short for my liking, but maybe that gets more people to read. The Domain section is very standard and the only interesting information I got from it was the origin of your website's name. But I don't blame you, there's nothing much you can say about a website to fill a whole page unless you have a super controversial online history. The subpages of this section are okay, but personally I wouldn't have the links section tucked in here. Since your about page is not to long (and that's fine!) and you aren't really saying much about your website per se in the Domain section, how about merging those two in a single "About" section that covers everything the visitor needs to know about you and your website? The subpages can go together too (if you decided to do it), except the links. Now, let's check out those subpages. Your archives are organized and well sorted (my archives look just like that har-har!). I love that you have screenshots in the Collective section. The plugins used section is fine too, seems like you used a WP-plugin to display them quite neatly (oh, I used that same plugin too!). Your links page is short and organized, and lolwut, I'm linked there. Thank you for that :)

   Overall

   Well, overall your site is quite nice. Like you've probably noticed I'm not a fan of the design. I don't think it is visually interesting, and I think it's because you've only used a gradual desaturation of the same color. You can make a clean and sober design without having to go so monochromatic; I suggest you experiment with different colors next time you're at it. You also need to space things out more, a lot more. I'd like to see a clickable header (linking back to the main page). In terms of content everything was acceptable and I have no major complains. I hope you find this review useful.

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3. 

   Diana gave it on 11th Nov 2008 and said:

   When I first read the small introduction on the sidebar, I wondered, what's a Kiwi? I now see by reading the About page that it means someone from New Zealand. I learned something new!

   The layout is calm, which is good. The only aesthetic thing I would suggest is more space between lines.

   The last sentence of your About page is a great ending. Your articles are interesting, even though I don't understand the Roleplaying Terms one. But if that's what you're into, kudos for writing about it! Handy tools is now to be a reference sheet for the next time I want to start a site, heh.

   Your blogs are great! They reflect who you are and what is relevant to your life. Good job.

   I'm so sorry for the short review! Your site is interesting, well-done, and quite pretty.

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4. 

   Louise gave it on 11th Nov 2008 and said:

   First impression: Very nice design! It's clean and neatly aligned. The footer helps to reduce sidebar clutter. I wonder if the "writing" navigation link should go elsewhere because it takes you to another site. I had "portfolio" in my main navigation take you to my portfolio website, and people didn't like it for some reason. I think it's because it might be confusing to some.

   Your content is pretty cool and useful. "Links and Styles" is very helpful, as is "Dictionary of Roleplaying Terms" (even though you didn't write it - it's free to share so that's ok). Your templates are lovely - please make more. :)

   There is just one minor mistake in the "Ninjalinks: Change Link Display" article, which is that your third code snippet is the same as the second. (Even though the change is only one word. ^^; )

   You have a very neat and useful website. :D Keep up the good work!

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   Catherine's Response:

   I actually did write the RP Dictionary thing - WU is another of my sites.

   Thanks for the rest of the comments - I'm getting around to adding other templates etc.

5. 

   Tracy gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:

   First Impression: Organized site, but the layout is not my style at all. It's very plain and I just don't like the colors. They do match well though. So - that's just my personal opinion.

   Sidebar: I like it lots. I like the different background color from the main content area, I like that the font size is a tad smaller than your main font size, I like the way you organized the sidebar. Really nice.

   Main Area: Very nice as well. Not too cluttered. I like that your blog titles strike out and I like that your sidebar and main blog area are about the same length.

   Footer: Nice. I like that your joined fanlistings change when you reload and I like that the content in the footer is about the same height. It makes the footer look clean. The background color of the footer suits the background color of your header and makes your layout look compact, in a good way.

   Navigation: I like where you put it. Unique. And easy to navigate.

   About: Ah, I like how your sidebar changes with your pages and allows additional navigation. I think you have a little less content though. Your dvd collection doesn't really tell too much of what kind of person you are.

   Content: Not a lot there, but still nice. I like it when people write articles. The rest of the content is very helpful and nice.

   Writing: Ah, I don't like how a whole new site opens. I think your writing site is also listed here, so I'll review that one separately some day ;)

   Domain: Your sidebar content disappears when you click the archives. Should it be this way? Other than that it's neat.

   What I find a little odd is that on your about page the sidebar only shows your welcome message and then the subnavigation, but with the other pages it also shows your recent posts... I'd either remove the recent posts from your pages and just leave it with your blog or add the recent posts also to the about sidebar.

   Your style.css is fine, your coding too. :)

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6. 

   Aisling gave it on 10th Nov 2008 and said:

   Hey Catherine! I'm pretty excited to review your site, although it looks essentially perfect, so I'm sure it will be short!

   I really enjoy your design. The layout of it is clean and crisp. It's minimalist, but not boring. Everything is well-spaced, with the right amounts of padding. The contrast is nice. My only complaint at this point is the annoyingness of the scrolling stripey background. It would look much better fixed. I find fixed backgrounds make designs look sleeker and cleaner, because your main content area seems to glide over it!

   I love the inclusion of your collective in the bottom right corner. It's a nice touch that I don't see often!

   On to content, I guess!! Your about page is short, sweet, and... well, you're sweet, so it's depicting you pretty well. ;)

   You have lots of DVDs, but a list is not entirely interesting. Since you are a collector, it would be cool to read your reviews on some of the films you have watched. Much more interesting than just a list!

   Your web profile page is interesting and helpful. :)

   Okay, and HERE'S my pet peeve. You probably have no idea how much I've ranted about this one. "Content," is EVERY page on your website, every graphic, every character. IS Content. Break out your thesaurus, and find a better name for this section! Anyway, your Roleplaying Terms was interesting, but even better was that you included it in BBCode! That's a new level of dedication I haven't seen! :D

   I enjoyed your Links and Styles article, and I shall be referencing it over the next few days when I sort out my links. :) Handy Tools for Making a Site is exactly that: handy. Your games are very original, and fun (I've played Acid River a LOT). Your CSS template is definitely one of the better I've seen, and I would love to see you expand on this section! And SMF Themes are not something you see often, and yours is lovely!

   Writing leads to Working Title, which I've already reviewed. ;) Normally, I dislike when the main navigation links to another site. I think a link to Working Title would be better suited in the sidebar, or on your about page, or something. But I also can see that taking it out of your current layout would make your navigation less appealing. :

   On to the domain section, my only comment (because I've noticed in my reviewing travels that all domain/site sections are essentially the same), is that I am pleasantly surprised to find that your domain has an ACTUAL meaning. At first it gives off the impression of that trend of picking two random words and creating a name. I should have known better than to group you into that category! Your domain comes from an actual piece of amazing literature! Yay!

   What can I say, really? Your site is clean, fun to browse around, and well-written Excellent job.

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